Name ___________________________________________
Mrs. Edwards
English 9, Period ____________
Fall Semester
A Separate Peace by John Knowles
Response-to-Literature Essay
“. . . you never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them.”
Assignment:

On an individual basis, you must select one of the following essay topics and compose a
five-paragraph Response-to-Literature Essay .
Elements of the assignment:

Write a 5-paragraph response-to-literature essay analyzing one of the following questions
listed below:
o What is the most important theme expressed in A Separate Peace?
o There is quite a bit of symbolism in the novel. There is symbolism relating to the
characters’ names, relating to the war, and relating to the Bible. For this essay,
choose one area of symbolism and explore the significance of the symbolism
in relation to the themes in the novel. If you choose this option you need to
address the significance and statement Knowles is making through the
symbolism- do not simply show that it is present.
o Throughout the book, Gene is associated with bitterness, rivalry, complicacy, and
competence. In contrast, Finny is associated with strength, power, goodness, and
excellence. Yet, it is Finny who dies and Gene who lives. Considering both
characters write an essay about the strengths and weaknesses in both boys
arguing who is the weaker character. Consider the statement Knowles is
making about strength and survival through these young men. What does it
take to survive in a modern world?

Your essay must follow the following format:
o Introduction – Minimum of 5 sentences with the thesis statement as your final
sentence.
o 3 Body Paragraphs – Minimum of 8 sentences following the format discussed in
class.
 You must have TWO pieces of textual evidence per body paragraph.
o Conclusion – Maximum of 5 sentences restating your thesis and tying up your essay.
Guidelines:
• You must provide analysis, which supports your thesis statement (argument) regarding the
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
novel.
Make sure that your thesis reflects critical thinking, but do not restate the obvious. An
effective thesis explains how or why something occurs in relation to another event, person,
situation, etc.
As this is a five-paragraph essay, you will present six pieces of textual evidence/quotations.
Your paper should follow the MLA format, use the Times New Roman font (no larger than
12pt) and include a Works Cited page.
Use the present tense to describe the events in a novel.
Do not summarize the novel; instead, provide analysis.
Do not use any form of the verb “to get,” contractions, or words from the Thou Shall Never
Use in My Essay Writing List (which will be explained in class and available on the website).
Use only third person pronouns: he, she, they, etc.
Double-space the entire paper without exception from your name all the way to the end of
your Works Cited.
Neither your thesis nor your topic sentences may contain any dead verbs: to have (have has,
had), to be (am, are, is, was, were, been, being, be), to get (get, gets, got, gotten, getting), to do
(do, doing, does, did)
One point will be subtracted from the final draft for each forbidden word, misspelled word, or
other grammar errors.
Grading
• Please see the attached rubric and commentary sheet for the grading of this project.
• Rough Draft and Peer Review - 20 points
• Final Draft with rough draft stapled to it – 100 points total (50 points for content; 50
points for grammar)
Due Date
• Remember, all essays must be submitted to turnitin.com as well as a hard copy must be
brought to class the day a draft (both rough and final) are due.
• Rough Draft
Turnitin.com by 10:00 p.m. – due Thursday, 20 November 2014
•
“Hard copy” for peer review – due Friday, 21 November 2014
Final draft (with complete rough draft stapled to it)
Turnitin.com by 10:00 p.m. – due Thursday, 4 December 2014
“Hard copy” – due Friday, 5 December 2014